Wireless communication networks typically include wireless access systems with equipment such as wireless access, control, and routing nodes that provide wireless communication services for wireless communication devices. A typical wireless communication network includes systems to provide wireless access across a geographic region, with wireless coverage areas associated with individual wireless access nodes. The wireless access systems exchange user communications between wireless communication devices, service providers, and other end user devices. These user communications typically include voice calls, data exchanges, web pages, streaming media, or text messages, among other communication services.
In some implementations, communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems may employ relay nodes that can act as an intermediary between a macro LTE access node or base station and the end wireless communication devices. Accordingly, when a wireless communication device requires a communication, the device may transmit data to the relay node, which in turn, transmits the data to the macro LTE access node. Similarly, when data is to be received by the wireless communication device, the macro LTE access node may transmit data to the wireless relay node, which forwards the data to the end wireless communication device.
However, while relay nodes may provide an effective method of distributing wireless resources and signaling to wireless communication devices, it may become inefficient for the macro access node and the relay nodes to manage packets for the different wireless device communications. In particular, encapsulating data packets for individual devices may create overhead, as headers for each of the packets may use valuable resources that could otherwise be allocated to other operations.
Overview
The technology disclosed herein enhances the tunneling of data communications between wireless access nodes and network gateways. In one implementation, a method of operating a communication system to enhance data communications between a wireless access node and a wireless network gateway includes, in the wireless access node, receiving data packets, via wireless signaling, for a plurality of wireless communication devices. The method further provides, in the wireless access node, encapsulating the data packets for the plurality of wireless communication devices into a GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) packet of a shared GTP tunnel for the plurality of wireless communication devices, wherein the GTP packet comprises a GTP extension header to multiplex the data packets in the GTP packet, and transferring the GTP packet for delivery to the wireless network gateway. The method further provides, in the wireless network gateway, receiving the GTP packet, and separating the data packets from the GTP packet based on the GTP extension header. The method also includes, in the wireless network gateway, transferring the data packets to corresponding network destinations for the plurality of wireless communication devices.